In Glorieta

"The Snow Man" Glorieta Recreation Intern Chase McKeown adjusts a snow machine on the snow tubing hill in preparation for the opening of snow tubing season.

This post provided by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook

The Baptist Convention of New Mexico kicked off their State Convention at Glorieta with a missions banquet prepared by Glorieta’s Executive Chef, Danny Hernandez, and his staff and served by Glorieta staff and volunteers. Thus began three days of what Glorieta Director Hal Hill termed, “a sweet spirit of fellowship.” The Baptist Convention of New Mexico and Glorieta have a long history tracing back to Glorieta’s founding when BCNM put money on the land where the conference center now sits in hopes of convincing the Southern Baptist Convention that northern New Mexico was the right place for the western conference center they were planning to build.

The State Convention featured addresses by Baptist Convention of New Mexico President Bruce Kirby, Executive Director Dr. Joseph Bunce and Michael Dean of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Ft. Worth TX. Special music was provided by the New Mexico Singing Churchmen. Hal Hill said that both the messages and the worship were significant to the convention and that he felt that Glorieta provided the perfect location for both the formal and informal fellowship of the convention. Glorieta provides a unique experience for guests in the way that the campus brings people together in their day-to-day activities. Thus, Convention guests gained the benefits of attending the Convention sessions as well as the face time that is so important to ministering effectively as the body of Christ.

This post was written by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook.

Several buildings at LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center are undergoing extensive renovations this year. In New Mexico Hall, the conference rooms on the north end are being remodeled to better serve the function space needs of the many adult groups who visit Glorieta each year.  Rooms K, L, M and N have been gutted and will have an entirely new, more modern look by Summer 2010.  In addition to the new appearance, these renovations include measures to increase the energy efficiency of these rooms, which will result in energy expense savings as well as greater comfort for our guests.

Art Snead, Glorieta’s Business and Operations Manager, said, “New Mexico Hall was originally built for summer operation.  Our utilization of this building year-round, coupled with rising energy costs, has placed an increased financial burden on Glorieta.  As we renovate these rooms, we are taking advantage of an opportunity to become more energy efficient as well.”  Glorieta met with two energy consultants and its architect on how to best rebuild the rooms for energy efficiency and guest comfort. The recommended changes include adding two inch rigid foam and batting insulation to existing exterior walls and sound insulation to all the interior walls, which are being rebuilt. The rebuilt interior includes a new storage closet that services all three rooms and an enlarged corridor and storage room for Room K.

Glorieta sees Room K as the crown jewel of the current meeting space renovations. It is being upgraded to an executive board room that will afford a spectacular view of Glorieta Baldy along with the aesthetic and technological commodities necessary for modern executive retreats. These commodities include a custom built oak board table with built in power and A/V connectors, a flatscreen TV, QSC audio system and a slim-profile whiteboard cabinet flanked with notepads. The room will also feature a catering station that will be serviced from a catering area in the storage room located off the corridor that leads to Room K.

Renovations to Chuckwagon and Holy Grounds are scheduled to begin in November 2009 for early spring completion.  Hal Hill, Director of Glorieta Conference Center said, “Not only is this the first significant renovation that New Mexico Hall has had in recent years, it will allow us to update meeting room space to equal or surpass the best anywhere on campus. The changes we will make in the Chuckwagon and Holy Grounds will be amazing - accessible and enjoyable for all our guests. I am glad it will be a tangible improvement that will demonstrate to guests and all our visitors our commitment to excellence and the continuation of our mission as God's training center in New Mexico.”

This post was written by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook.
 

The Balloon Fiesta in Albuqurque is a big deal around Glorieta Conference Center, and many of the staff and volunteers took time to go enjoy the festivities. This shot is from one of the mass assentions, which involved over 200 hotair balloons.

This post was provided by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook.

The Texas Baptist Men’s Furniture Building Ministry has been at Glorieta since August stirring up large amounts of sawdust as they custom built many needed pieces of furniture for Glorieta. From bunks and dressers to a custom designed oak and Brazilian walnut board table for the new executive board room, each piece is made with love and the utmost attention to detail. One volunteer, Melvin, is 88 years old and has been volunteering since 1986. He is the designated cross maker for this ministry and painstakingly makes hundreds of wooden cross plaques by hand. Some of these plaques are featured on furniture pieces like bunk beds and others are given away as gifts to those who minister on campus. Seeing a cross plaque or the Texas Baptist Men’s stamp on a piece of furniture on campus is an assurance of the quality and love put into that piece. As the Furniture Builders pull out of campus this week, they leave us with many beautiful and needed pieces of furniture and a deep sense of gratitude for all they gave.

The Oklahoma Campers on Mission have been on campus helping us with our renovations in Rooms K, L, M and N. These gentlemen have been working hard on the demolition and reframing of these rooms and having a grand time doing it. And while one of their favorite jokes is about how they never get any work done in the midst of all their fun, their progress is evidenced by dramatic, daily changes in the construction zones. Their skill, work ethic and sense of humor are all impressive. Their efforts are invaluable to us as we seek to upgrade these rooms.

This post was written by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook.

That's a question we've heard a bunch since we announced a new operating model for Glorieta last January. We've also heard, "Why are you closing Glorieta?". Quick answer to that one, "WE'RE NOT CLOSING GLORIETA!"

So, now that you know for a fact we're not closing, I would like to share with you some of the details of our new operating model for Glorieta. We're excited about the future for Glorieta and we believe God has great things in store for the ministry that takes place there.

 Glorieta Update from Byron Hill on Vimeo.

Growing up, I never had the opportunity to attend a summer camp. At the time it was no big deal because I didn't know what I was missing. However, the longer I've been involved with our summer camps, the more I wish I could have enjoyed the camp experience as a child.

The following is a recently published article detailing a mom's wish to provide that summer camp experience for her kids. I hope you'll enjoy it.

When Heather Murry tried to enroll her children in camp at Ridgecrest, there were no spots open. Camp staff suggested she try their newer sister camp in Glorieta, N.M. The mother of five from Belmont Baptist Church in Conyers, Ga., said that was divine providence.

"Glorieta boys and girls camps are the jewel of the Southwest – it’s an undiscovered treasure," Heather said. "We wouldn’t trade any camp in the world for this one. It has everything from good, old-fashioned archery and canoeing to worship and quiet times all in one of the most beautiful settings you’ll ever experience."

To read the entire story, please click here.

What about you? Did you have a camp experience growing up? What about your kids? A week or two each summer, at a Christian camp, could have a huge impact on their spiritual growth. If you don't believe me, find someone who's had a "good, old fashioned camp experience" and I'm sure they will tell you the same thing!

The 70-plus summer staff members at LifeWay’s Glorieta Conference Center are working in "the family business" this summer, but that phrase doesn’t mean what you might expect.

"I do feel like their dad," said Billy Roberts, speaking of the young adult staffers he will oversee as manager of the Chuckwagon, Glorieta’s fast food eatery. During the busy summer camp and events season, Roberts’ employees will prepare and serve about two-thirds of the Chuckwagon’s annual food sales.

A couple of weeks before Glorieta’s busy season begins, summer staffers, mostly 20-something college students, arrive at the conference center outside Santa Fe, N.M. Preparations are already well underway to transition Glorieta from its winter schedule, which features mostly small church group bookings, to its busier summer schedule that includes weeks of student camps and large training events.

On top of reopening buildings shuttered during the winter months and performing standard springtime maintenance on the several hundred acre campus, Glorieta’s full-time staff and managers invest a couple of weeks training summer staff members for tasks such as serving meals, working the front desk, housekeeping, facilitating recreation and a variety of other responsibilities.

"We work hard to create an experience that is not just a work experience," said Andrew Morris, Glorieta’s program specialist. Morris is in charge of HighPoint, Glorieta’s summer staff program that incorporates spiritual training into the summer job.

"We want [summer staff members] to see themselves as part of the ministry of Glorieta," he said.

Since ministry is a key component of each job description, Morris said he examined each job application carefully in his search for servant leaders.

Kelli Rice, a student at San Francisco State University, said that the ministry element of working at Glorieta is what drew her to the job.

"I could make more money doing something else this summer, but we get to come here and serve and glorify God," said Rice, who will be working primarily at Glorieta’s front desk.

This is the first summer that temporary summer staff will handle front desk duties, said front desk manager Robert Suggs. Because the job is so complex, his summer employees arrived for training a week earlier than other staff members.

Rice said her first few days on campus were "really quiet," and she was grateful for the friendship and community she developed with the other front desk workers.

That community is what Roberts wants to cultivate as a manager of summer staff members. He said he views the Chuckwagon with the same perspective as he applies to LifeWay as a larger organization. "We’re a ministry first and a business second," Roberts said. "We’ll be busy, but we have to retain that mentality.

"I have a responsibility to lead by example," Roberts said. "I want to know that the summer staff is growing in experience and spiritually." He added that accomplishing that begins with ensuring the summer staff functions more as a family than as a group of individual employees.

This summer’s staff is comprised of very few returning employees. While that means their level of experience is low, Morris said the level of opportunity to foster a sense of community is high.

"It’s a really strong staff and the morale is high," he said. "We want them to understand that they are working as the Body."